Update on Bear’s eye

At the end of October, Bear developed what looked like a blob of blood in his eye. he had a minor altercation with another dog that i thought caused this minor bleed and it didn’t seem to get worse or bother him at all, even right after it happened. So I didn’t think much about it. But then it didn’t improve or change at all.

So when I took him in for a chiropractic adjustment in November, I had my vet look at it. Given that we thought it was from an injury, he thought it might be tissue from inside the eye that had come through to the front through a small tear. This was still not bothering Bear at all. My vet referred me to a specialist. Given the money we had recently put out to get Dazzle’s tail healed, I had to put off the visit to another specialist.

I just had the appointment for Bear today with the Opthamologist. Turns out it’s a tumor. The vet said it had likely been growing inside the eye for awhile. She said it’s common for the tumor to grow completely hidden and then pop out suddenly. But less common for it to pop out where his is located (at the top of the eyeball, inside the visible part of the eye).

The only good news is a) it’s not currently bothering him (but it will as it grows bigger) and b) that it’s not likely cancer, but they won’t know for sure till his eye is removed. Yup, that’s the treatment- remove the entire eyeball and sew his eye socket shut. 😦 This will give him the appearance of winking or that the eye is closed.

I learned that the tumor prevents the use of a prosthetic eye because for that to be used, parts of the eye need to remain and that may allow the tumor to re-grow.
I know dogs do fine with lack of vision because Coyote is now blind from PRA.
I have learned that it’s a common surgery and recovery is quick.
I have learned it’s not a tumor type that is likely to spread or show up in his other eye- thank God!
I have learned that even if it is the cancerous variety, it’s not likely to spread- Thank-God!
But it still makes me cry if I think about it too much, like right now.

We’re going to wait on the surgery, both because it doesn’t need to come out immediately and because we can’t afford the $1300-$1500 cost right now. So for now, I’ll be taking as many photos of his adorable face as possible! And I’m hoping that once he has a permanent wink, he will be even cuter. And if not, I’ll get him a pirate patch and change his name to Jack Sparrow (Just kidding!)

So we’ll end up with:
a blind dog (Coyote- 13 yrs old),
a deaf dog (King (12 yrs old),
a half blind dog (Bear 8 yrs old)
and a crazy dog 🙂
And a cat who, almost every evening, spends about 30 minutes running back and forth from her perch in the dining room to her bed in the bedroom for no apparent reason, with a 10-90 sec pause in each destination. The dogs have learned to just ignore her 🙂 But the way she moves and then crouches in position looks like she’s playing the theme from Mission Impossible in her head. So add a crazy cat to the crew.

Malinois:

Description:

MALINOIS: A thinking dog with a sense of humor. Ready to work or play all day long and at a moment's notice. MUST have something physical to do on a daily basis (job, play, etc.). Will learn with lightning speed for a person who will teach with kindness, clarity and fairness. His athleticism allows him to excel in any dog sport and he's game for any activity that tests his mental or physical abilities

Archives

Dazzle’s Horoscope:

Leo
July 23 to August 22
Assertive and expressive, the Leo dog deserves respect. Your dogs demanding nature puts him constantly in the center of the family's attention. Assumingly he waits for fresh and tasty food, regular grooming, and patting. He enjoys being the king of all.
He is extremely affectionate, faithful, confident, and proud. Your Leo dog is fiercely loyal, and cannot endure if you ignore him. He needs attention, praise, and adoration.
But, let him earn it; do not provide it for free. Give lot of attention during a training session; praise him for fulfilling a task. Leo dogs are excellent working dogs. They need a job and appropriate exercise